The Bet
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Ichigo bets that she can make Kisshu blush. If she loses, she has to be his girlfriend. What will happen? Set after the series.


**The Bet**

_**Set after the series.**_

Ichigo sighed. _I know Aoyama dumped me, but do I really love Kisshu? _she wondered. _He's nagging me non-stop about being his girlfriend. I kind of want to, but I don't know how it would work out, and I don't want to hurt him. I wonder if there's some way I can get him to stop nagging me so I'll have a chance to think._

She thought for a while, but then came up with an idea. _I've never seen Kisshu blush; if I bet him that I can make him blush, and tell him I'll be his girlfriend if I lose, maybe he'll stop nagging me,_ Ichigo thought. _I think that's what I'll do._

So the next day, when she found Kisshu waiting in her room for her after school, she was ready. "Hi Koneko-chan!" Kisshu said.

"Hi Kisshu," Ichigo said.

"Are you going to be my girlfriend?" Kisshu asked hopefully.

"I had an idea about that," Ichigo said. "How about this: If I can make you blush, you'll stop nagging me. If I can't, I'll be your girlfriend, k?"

Kisshu appeared to be thinking, then said, "Okay! How long is this going on?"

"One week," Ichigo said.

"YAY!" Kisshu said. "I get to see you every day for a week!"

Ichigo couldn't help smiling at his excitement. "The new week starts tomorrow; the bet will start then," Ichigo said.

_**The next day, Sunday: **_Kisshu decided to teleport in while Ichigo was sleeping, which did not make her a happy camper. She woke up abruptly as Kisshu yanked the blankets off, and said, "Morning!"

"Haven't you ever heard of sleeping in?" Ichigo asked irritably.

"No," Kisshu said innocently. "What is it?"

Ichigo looked at him in disbelief. "You don't know what sleeping in is?" she asked.

"I get up at 7 AM at the latest," Kisshu said. "Cyniclons only need seven hours of sleep to go back to full strength, unless they're sick or injured. So sleeping in is sleeping past 7?"

"I like to sleep till at least 10 on weekends," Ichigo said.

"I wonder how that's going to work when we get married…." Kisshu said thoughtfully.

"You've got a one-track mind," Ichigo said.

"And I'm proud of it," Kisshu said happily. His smile faded a bit as someone knocked on the door.

"Ichigo, are you up?" Sakura called.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ichigo called back.

Sakura came in and saw Kisshu, then said, "You should do this more often; getting her up for school is a nightmare."

"MOM!" Ichigo yelled. "Now that you've said that, he'll do it every morning!"

"It's good for you," Sakura said.

"I'm half-cat, it's NOT good for me to not get lots of sleep," Ichigo said grouchily.

Sakura ignored this and asked, "Kisshu, what's with the early visit?"

"Koneko-chan has a week to try to make me blush, and if she doesn't succeed, she has to be my girlfriend," Kisshu said happily.

"If I win, YOU have to stop nagging me," Ichigo said.

Kisshu's ears drooped, and Ichigo giggled. "Your ears are so CUTE!" she said.

Kisshu smirked and said, "Glad you think so."

Ichigo sighed. "I was hoping that would make you blush…." she said.

"Try again tomorrow!" Kisshu said gleefully, and teleported out.

Sakura giggled and said, "Ichigo, you should call off the bet and just say you'll be his girlfriend."

Ichigo sighed. "Part of me wants to, but I really don't want to hurt him," she said. "I hurt him a lot in the past, and I'm just not sure if this is the right thing for both of us. I've realized that I do want to be with him, and I know he wants to be with me, but I'm afraid of hurting him."

Sakura sat down next to her. "That's a wise fear, but don't let it take over," she said. "I know you feel really bad about how much you hurt Kisshu in the past, but I think the future's more important than dwelling on your past mistakes."

Ichigo looked at her mother, a bit startled, and Sakura said, "I hear you at night sometimes. It was worse right after he left, but it's gotten better, right?"

"You heard me?" Ichigo asked.

Sakura nodded. "I know you cry yourself to sleep sometimes, and right after Kisshu left, it was almost every night," she said. "After you started talking to me about it, you didn't cry as much. I never told your dad, or he'd have started in on Kisshu the minute he came back, but I know you still cry yourself to sleep at night."

"I still have nightmares," Ichigo admitted. "Kisshu dying in my arms was absolutely the worst moment of my life. Lettuce told me they heard me scream his name outside the fortress. I was an idiot to choose Aoyama over Kisshu, and I know that. I know it hurt him, and I guess that's why he never said goodbye."

"The first two weeks after they left, you woke up sobbing every single night," Sakura said. "I've never heard anything more heartbroken; from you or anyone else. Kisshu has no idea how glad I am he's back; it broke my heart seeing you like that."

Little did either of them know, Kisshu was sitting in Ichigo's tree, listening. _Maybe I shouldn't have left; I didn't know she was crying herself to sleep over me, _he thought.

He kept listening as Sakura said, "Ichigo, if you decide to be Kisshu's girlfriend, I'll invite him to live with us, k?"

Kisshu watched as Ichigo perked up. "But what about Dad?" she asked.

"I'll work on him," Sakura said. "I know he won't like it at first, but he'll get used to it."

"I hope Kisshu hates banana bread too," Ichigo said.

"If you can get him out of your tree, you can ask him," Sakura said. They heard leaves rustling, and then Kisshu teleported into the room.

"How did you know I was there?" he asked Sakura.

"I have eyes in the back of my head with X-ray vision," Sakura said. "It's a mom thing."

"That's creepy…." Kisshu said.

Ichigo giggled, and was surprised when Kisshu turned slightly pink. "HA! I win!" she said.

"I'm blushing?" Kisshu asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "It's really cute, too."

"I suppose that means I have to stop nagging you?" Kisshu sighed.

"You don't need to; I've made my decision," Ichigo said. "I'd love to be your girlfriend, Kish."

"YAY!" Kisshu said. "And you gave me a nickname!"

Ichigo smiled. "Yup, and now I guess we get to live together," she said.

Kisshu looked insanely happy. Sakura smiled and asked, "Do you hate banana bread too?"

"I'm severely allergic to bananas and anything banana-related, including the smell," Kisshu sighed. "The one time I ate one, I nearly died because Pai couldn't get my fever to go down."

"This. Is. GREAT!" Ichigo said. "I'll never see another banana!"

"And I'll never have to make banana bread again!" Sakura said happily. She and Ichigo hugged Kisshu together.

"I don't get it," Kisshu said when they let him go.

"Dad is completely obsessed with banana everything, and Mom and I hate bananas," Ichigo explained. "You just solved our biggest problem!"

"Do I get a kiss for that?" Kisshu asked hopefully.

Ichigo giggled and kissed him passionately.

**I know it's short, but I think it's cute, so please review!**


End file.
